General Motors Co GM CEO Mary Barra said on Tuesday that the company has 100,000 reservations in place for its electric pickups, indicating strong interest.
What Happened: During the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, Barra said that the company expects its U.S. portfolio in EVs to be variable profit positive in the second half of the year, thanks to strong interest and lower commodity prices.
While the company intends to produce 200,000 to 300,000 Ultium-based Chevrolet GMC, Cadillac, and BrightDrop EVs in North America in 2024, it will be subject to demand, Barra said.
GM is eyeing higher production for the Cadillac Lyriq, the GMC Hummer EV, the Chevrolet Blazer EV, and the Silverado EV work truck throughout the year. Chevrolet Equinox EV, Silverado EV RST, GMC Sierra EV Denali, and the Cadillac Escalade IQ will also arrive in showrooms in the meantime, said Barra.
The company further expects to fulfill its 100,000 EV pickup reservations in two years.
Demand Concerns: Barra, however, is skeptical of dwindling demand.
“If demand conditions change, we’ll take advantage of our manufacturing flexibility in Spring Hill and Ramos to build more ICE models and fewer EVs. We can also mix between different EV products at Factory ZERO. Ultimately, we will follow the customer,” she said. “It’s true, the pace of EV growth has slowed, which has created some uncertainty.”
Why It Matters: General Motors continues to be committed to ending combustion engine light-duty vehicle sales by 2035. However, until then, the company will seemingly take a demand-focused approach.
In October, GM withdrew its EV production targets. This included both the 100,000 EV target the company had set for the second half of 2023 as well as the cumulative 400,000 target the company had set for from 2022 to the first half of 2024.
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